All Good People Go To J’s Fresh Bar and Kitchen Heaven

I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’ve waited two hours for a meal…let alone waiting two hours for a meal and be willing to wait another two hours to try it again.

Introducing J’s Fresh Bar and Kitchen – the newest name on Nairobi’s food scene. It was opening night the first time I went and we were a group of about 20 friends, which explains the long wait. It’s expected that a restaurant will have teething problems, but what I didn’t expect was the sheer deliciousness and consistency of the food that came out.

The menu was a shorter version for that opening night, but the range was already impressive. Akin to a gourmet bistro pub – the dishes are a variety of classic favourites with a twist – like the smoked paprika scotch eggs with homemade piccalilli- and funky new flavours like the shredded kale and peanut salad complete with tamari dressing.

Either way, it’s been a while since I was so excited by such a small menu. Being in a big group has its advantages – I got to try a lot of the dishes. For starters there was a Szechuan peppered squid with roasted garlic aioli and chargrilled prawns with a homemade chili jam. The prawns were not my favourite part of the meal - even though I ordered a large portion, there weren’t many prawns on the plate and the jam was a little on the sweet side – but the squid more than made up for this and was as moreish as it comes. Nothing gets me like the sexy tingle of a Szechuan pepper and followed by the zap of a lemon – it was a genius concept.

When the main courses rolled out, their presentation was fantastic. All of them were presented on a wooden block, good-sized portions delicately put together. I’m not the biggest burger or fish and chip fan, but in this case I will gladly drive across to Karen in rush-hour traffic for either of those dishes. The fish had a light and crispy batter and was accompanied by a minty pea puree that everyone ended up fighting over – I still don’t understand how they made it taste so good! The burger was outstanding. Probably the best burger I’ve ever eaten (seriously), I have to put this down to the magic pickles that enhanced the flavour of the perfectly cooked beef.

So, clearly, I think J’s got things right, and good on them. Nairobi was in dire need of a fresh new place that serves banging food, addictive cocktails – without the pretentiousness that has tarnished so many of the city’s dining experiences.

Really looking forward to my next visit and I can only hope that this time they’ll have enough of those scotch eggs to go around!

 

by Samantha Spooner